31–40 of 59 posts
In the 80s, the local FD used to attach some weird pipe/sprinkler system to the fire hydrants around my hood to prevent people from doing it themselves. It was pretty awesome, we'd be playing in that all day.
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> They had the sense to build the city not in a desert The hubris of the people who built up the southwest United States in particular astounds me.
It's especially bothersome when their choices make it impossible for the rest of us to (e.g.) buy a toilet that actually flushes.
As an experiment I dumped a half gallon of water into it and it flushed. Of course the bowl didn't fill up after but this makes me think that my loo would work with one of those reduced water flush mechanisms for when the waste is liquid. I've seen some retrofit kits but they won't fit my loo.
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> OK then. It is insanely wasteful of water. It's only a "waste" if the water is scarce. People rarely talk about wasting air (except to call someone dumb) because the air is virtually unlimited. For example in the UK it's damn near impossible to waste water because it rains so consistently. Water isn't scarce. You can't really waste it, because there's always plenty more. Even if you could pipe the water from NYC al…
> So the only way this is "waste" is if it's depleting the aquifer faster than it replenishes. That's possible of course. But unlikely, because NYC has been huge for hundreds of years now. If they're depleting aquifers it's only very slowly. This is exactly the case. NY/NJ are depleting the groundwater faster than it comes back, but not at a great rate and it is nowhere near a problem yet.
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From a native Californian perspective, it just looks insanely wasteful of water. These are fed from some non-potable source, at least? ...Read TFA, nope. OK then. It is insanely wasteful of water.
NYC has plenty of water, brought in via aquaducts from upstate. They had the sense to build the city not in a desert.
The comment you're replying to said "California", and there is not much California population in the desert climate. For example, Palm Springs in the Sonora Desert has a population of about 50K, and Palmdale/Lancaster/Victorville in the Mojave Desert has a combined population of about 400K).
But for serious, those open pumps are so much a part of city life. You get families out barbecuing on the sidewalk, the kids playing in the water, people stopping to douse their heads or wash their hands. Cars slowing down as they pass to get a half-assed wash. That sort of stuff.
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From a native Californian perspective, it just looks insanely wasteful of water. These are fed from some non-potable source, at least? ...Read TFA, nope. OK then. It is insanely wasteful of water.
The spray cap doesn't seem insanely wasteful. Or at least, no more wasteful than a public fountain or swimming pool. The benefit seems to vastly outweigh the cost. Also, I'm guessing that NY has sufficient reservoir capacity to handle it, and the reservoirs fill up naturally when it rains, so you're not wasting a finite resource anyway.
Here (in WA state) on the other hand, no sprinkler caps, and no real need for them. Indeed our biggest issue is special security on them and FDC connectors because people will steal the caps for scrap metal.
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From a native Californian perspective, it just looks insanely wasteful of water. These are fed from some non-potable source, at least? ...Read TFA, nope. OK then. It is insanely wasteful of water.
> OK then. It is insanely wasteful of water. It's only a "waste" if the water is scarce. People rarely talk about wasting air (except to call someone dumb) because the air is virtually unlimited. For example in the UK it's damn near impossible to waste water because it rains so consistently. Water isn't scarce. You can't really waste it, because there's always plenty more. Even if you could pipe the water from NYC al…
The current water rate for NYC is $3.81/hcf. For sewage, $6.06/hcf.
The current water rate for LA is $5.23/hcf. For sewage, about $4.23/hcf.
One "hcf" is 100 cubic feet, or about 748 gallons.
Hopefully, the water sprayed from the hydrant is treated before being released. Most groundwater in LA is treated unless the rain overwhelms the treatment facility. This implies that in either case, the cost is about $10/hcf.
This would be one way to put a price on running water -- and to me, it implies that this counts as "waste".
Sources:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwaterboard/html/rate_schedule/ind...
https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/aboutus/a-financesan...
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NYC has plenty of water, brought in via aquaducts from upstate. They had the sense to build the city not in a desert.
Neither Los Angeles nor San Francisco is in a desert. The comment you're replying to said "California", and there is not much California population in the desert climate. For example, Palm Springs in the Sonora Desert has a population of about 50K, and Palmdale/Lancaster/Victorville in the Mojave Desert has a combined population of about 400K).
LA and SF may not be "deserts" in some technical sense, but it'll do for practical purposes.
This is good government as a public service , better than viewing the public as criminals-in-waiting: >Since 2007, the New York City DEP has multiple programs to combat the illicit opening of the city’s hydrants. With very few exceptions, you can go to pretty much any firehouse in the five boroughs and ask for a spray cap. The fire department will come to the hydrant of your choosing, open it up for about 12 hours, a…
I live in New York, I've seen kids on our block, and their parents, playing with one of those - including a shower-head attachment! - pretty much every day this week. It looks great - it's hot and humid as hell right now, a lot of families don't have an air conditioner, and there's not exactly a lot of public pools around (and forget water parks, or swimming in the rivers.) This seems like a pretty good way of making…
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From a native Californian perspective, it just looks insanely wasteful of water. These are fed from some non-potable source, at least? ...Read TFA, nope. OK then. It is insanely wasteful of water.
NYC has plenty of water, brought in via aquaducts from upstate. They had the sense to build the city not in a desert.